Nothing Phone (1) has generated a lot of buzz at a low cost. And I'm adding to its fame myself because it really caught my eye.
I could actually start this review with lines taken straight from a Hollywood adventure movie trailer 📽️: "once in a thousand years...", "a grand mission", "this summer", and so on. Unfortunately, the smartphone market has become so narrow and derivative that the slightest novelty, anything that isn't the 7690th Xiaomi model this week, is enough to turn the eyes of the entire world towards it.
Such a novelty is the Nothing Phone (1). It's the first model in a new manufacturer's portfolio, which is intriguing in itself, as companies have been withdrawing from this game rather than entering it in recent years. More hardcore nerds will also be intrigued by the fact that Carl Pei, the founder of OnePlus, is responsible for Nothing, and everyone else should be captivated by the aggressive marketing 🥊 and the original product styling of the company.
When it comes to the latter, I'm of course referring to the "lights" on the back, which have recently caused as much stir in the mobile world as a total solar eclipse (the next one in Poland is in 113 years!). Is this a total eclipse of the audience's brains, or does the Phone (1) have something else to offer?
What does Nothing Phone (1) bring to the world of smartphones?
Okay, I admit – those lights got me too. As you can see, it's enough to reveal a bit of "skin" – because the back cover is semi-transparent – and add a few LED strips to steal the heart of any geek. The LEDs flash in various epileptogenic configurations in response to calls and notifications, and it looks absolutely awesome. Another thing is that it's more comfortable to place the phone screen-up anyway, so there's no practical sense to it. On the other hand, the horns on Viking helmets don't have one either, and we all love them like our own. 😈
In any case, thanks to this little detail, which probably costs about 10 zlotys per unit to add to the phone, the Nothing Phone (1) has become the object of desire for millions. Okay, many people don't like it either, but hey – thanks to the lights, at least you won't confuse it with any other phone. Without them, it might have been difficult, because the shape of the casing itself is virtually identical to the new iPhones: curved edges connected with chamfered, sharp sides.
How much does Nothing Phone (1) cost and is it worth the price?
In its cheapest version, the Phone (1) costs 2300 zlotys. That's not a trivial amount 💰 – it's still a far cry from a flagship, but a smartphone at this price shouldn't give its owner a single reason to doubt that it was a good purchase. And Nothing doesn't! Almost.
The 6.5-inch screen is AMOLED with a built-in fingerprint reader. Fast refresh rate, nice colors, everything you've dreamed of. If you were to write a few nice words about the Phone (1)'s speakers on an audiophile forum, at least a dozen people would surely have heart attacks, and you'd hear for weeks about how Vikings supposedly don't wash their ears. Nevertheless, there are two speakers, and they are perfectly sufficient for watching YouTube while having breakfast.
There are also two cameras on the back – main and ultrawide. The Phone (1) is not exactly a photography master, but even I – spoiled by testing the most expensive models – would be able to accept this level of photos. As long as I have my lights! Speaking of which – you can use the lights to illuminate recorded videos, and that's actually a quite practical feature.
What else makes this phone stand out?
Internally, only two features really set Nothing apart. The first is a very nice and fast Android skin inspired – what else – by the lights. It might even become my favorite on the entire market, but some of the fonts used in it lack Polish characters. Who would have thought that one mismatched letter "borrowed" from Times New Roman could ruin an effect created by hundreds of matching ones?
The second distinguishing feature is support for wireless charging, which is almost non-existent in this price range. And reverse wireless charging too, meaning you can charge your own company's headphones from the back of the Phone (1). In that case, the phone must lie with its back facing up, and the LEDs are visible, so hey, it turns out it was all part of a bigger plan! The battery itself will last a standard day, and charging takes about an hour.
And there you have it. The Nothing Phone (1) is, in essence, quite standard. It lacks groundbreaking technical solutions or anything new that would significantly improve daily comfort. At the same time, it's a great debut for a new brand, because I'd like a phone that looks like this, and its "character" doesn't put me off too much. The Phone (1) is certainly not objectively the most cost-effective smartphone for around 2000 zlotys, but if you're also into transparency, you can safely go for it.
